University Press of Kansas Blog

Kansas City Monarchs

While America revels in the Kansas City Royals’ recent World Series success, let’s not forget The Kansas City Monarchs: Champions of Black Baseball by Janet Bruce. Charter members of the Negro National League, stepping stone for Jackie Robinson, home base for Satchel Paige, and training ground for more than twenty blacks sent to the major leagues, the Kansas City Monarchs survived the entire thirty-five-year span of black baseball (from 1920 to mid 1950) and were widely regarded as the dominant black professional team, “the New York Yankees of the Negro leagues.” Rich in anecdote and illustrated with more than ninety photographs of Monarchs players and scenes, this book is both a tribute to and a celebration of the top all-black team of all time.